Today I bought the long wanted Grey Book. Got it from a local art store for $20 Singapore Dollar, was hesitated for this steep price for a sketchbook, bought it anyway after failing to find a better alternative. After all, a great sketchbook can produce much bigger value for my art in the coming days.
Why toned paper over white paper for drawing? One reason, toned paper is able to show the white you adding in the drawing. I will draw a simple sphere to demonstrate it.
终于卖到心仪已久的 The Grey Book。虽然价格不菲，花了我二十大洋，但由于找不到更好的替身，对艺术创作又不惜代价的我最后还是买了。相信这会是一笔很好的投资。
为什么要使用淡色纸作画？一个原因，就是淡色纸可以很好的显示白色，接下来我会用圆球型简单的示范一下。
The papers inside is grey in color, you can tell that by comparing it to the white label.
这本绘画本是淡灰色的，跟封面标签的纯白色比较不难看得出来。
Recommended by my favorite artist, I also acquired these four Copic markers for $5 each, the most expensive marker I ever had. They are made in Japan anyway. I will be using them in the illustration below.
跟随某位大师的建议，我也入手了一支价格五大洋的 Copic 马克笔，所拥有过最贵的马克笔。买了才发现是日本生产，难怪。以下会用这四支来作画。
The drawing
Use the lightest W2 marker to draw the base of the circle.
用最浅的 W2 笔来画出大致圆形。
W5 marker to highlight the shadow to indicate the light direction.
用 W5 笔勾画出影子和光源的方向。
W8 marker will deepen the main shadow.
用 W8 笔加深影子。
And the darkest 110 black marker will be used to outline the sphere, now you might think this should be done here, but we're not.
然后用最深的黑色笔把轮廓再加强一次，看到这里你会以为大功告成了吧？还没呢。
With the help of a white pencil, I added the white color at the brightest spot of the sphere, and the whole figure stands out now. The overall effect would not be as strong if I draw this on an ordinary white paper.
Now you know how a toned paper can really make a difference.
最后是用白色铅笔涂在圆形中最亮的地方，现在整个圆球看起来就立体多了。除了白色笔的功劳，淡色背景更是功不可没。要是同样的图画在普通白纸上，效果肯定没有这次来得突出。
现在你知道淡色纸的强大了吧。
